Beware of Yakes virus: encrypts files, demands ransom

Yakes virus is a disastrous computer infection that you should protect your computer from as soon as you can, because once it enters the PC, there’s no way back. This threat falls into ransomware category, which means it steals personal files and asks to pay up to get them back. By saying “steals,” we actually mean “encrypts.” So once the executive file of this malware launches, malicious processes start scanning the entire computer system, looking for audio, video, music, text files, and other relevant records. Once it detects such files, it locks them using tricky encryption algorithm and appends .KEYH0LES file extension to filenames. However, cyber criminals often release several versions of the same virus; therefore, some versions of Yakes crypto-ransomware may not append this file extension to encrypted files.

Questions about Yakes ransomware virus

Almost all ransomware viruses act the same – they encrypt files, drop ransom notes, and ask for money. Yakes threat does not differ from other ransomware variants. The ransom note it drops in every folder storing encrypted data is named [date of infiltration]-INFECTION.TXT. This short message states:

Your files are now encrypted. I have the key to decrypt them. I will give you a decrypter if you pay me.

Then cyber criminal provides two email addresses you can use to contact cyber criminals. The first one is momsbestfriend[at]protonmail.com, and the second one is torrenttracker[at]india.com. Also, the ransom note provides another option to contact cyber criminals in case these two emails become inaccessible – BitMessage (P2P communications protocol, meant to transmit encrypted messages to people). Frauds working behind this virus seek to swindle approximately 4 Bitcoins from the victim, which is a really huge sum of money to ask – it is equal to 1811 USD. Comparing to other ransomware viruses, Yakes asks for a 2-3 times larger sum of money, since the majority of ransom viruses demand 400-500 USD.

How to secure your computer from ransomware?

Since ransomware mainly spreads via mass emails, you have to be careful when checking your email inbox. It goes without saying that you must avoid opening letters that fall into Spam or Junk folders since your email provider automatically filters out suspicious letters. Moreover, stay away from ALL emails that come from unknown individuals or companies. Also, take note that frauds often try to pose as representatives of well-known companies, and pretend that they’re sending official documents, such as invoices, CVs, speeding tickets, reports, and similar content. Be careful and before you open such emails investigate whether the sender is reliable or not. Take note that frauds often mistype words, make a lot of grammar or syntax mistakes. If you notice such signs, do not open the email attachments, or any links presented in such letters!

Back up your files and store such backups on an external memory drive;

Update all your programs regularly;

Don’t enable Macros function in Word;

Instead of immediately opening files you download to your PC, save them to disk first. This way, your computer security software will have time to test its reliability.

Already infected with Yakes malware? If so, you might find Yakes removal instructions useful. We have provided them on page 2.

How to remove Yakes virus?

We want to congratulate you if you have decided not to pay the ransom for these cyber criminals. Remember that by paying them, you would support their illegal activities. Therefore, this would encourage them and make them happy. Of course, we do understand that sometimes people just cannot ignore such data loss, especially big companies that get affected. Besides, there is no way to decrypt data after Yakes affects it.

To uninstall Yakes ransomware, we recommend you to use an automatic malware removal tool – Reimage. Just run a system scan using it and see what malicious components it finds on your system. Then simply remove them from your computer with a single mouse click. Alternatively, you can try to uninstall Yakes virus manually. For that, please use these Yakes removal instructions:

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What to do if failed?
If you failed to remove infection using Reimage, submit a question to our support team and provide as much details as possible.

Reimage is recommended to uninstall Yakes ransomware virus. Free scanner allows you to check whether your PC is infected or not. If you need to remove malware, you have to purchase the licensed version of Reimage malware removal tool. More information about this program can be found in Reimage review.

Log in to your infected account and start the browser. Download Reimage or other legitimate anti-spyware program. Update it before a full system scan and remove malicious files that belong to your ransomware and complete Yakes removal.

If your ransomware is blocking Safe Mode with Networking, try further method.